The present invention relates generally to the analysis of hydrocarbons in environmental or geological samples.
Chromophores in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are produced by Friedel-Crafts reactions (FCR) with a wide variety of the chemical constituents in crude oil and crude oil fractions. These chromophores serve as spectral markers which fingerprint a petroleum substance allowing for identification of the type and/or the source of the substance. This fingerprinting of petroleum substances may provide information for environmental investigation and assessment. It also serves as extremely valuable information in the Oil & Gas Exploration and Production (E&P) industry in the search for, and efficient production of, petroleum. Field kits for environmental testing of hydrocarbons based on U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,379 by the present inventor have been utilized in the industry. However, they lack the capacity for immediate or on-site read-out of the chromophoric signals produced by these kits.